※ 註： Chao J-L, Lee K-S, Chang H-S (2018) Lithobius (Monotarsobius) meifengi sp. n., a new species of centipede from high altitude forest in central Taiwan (Chilopoda, Lithobiomorpha,Lithobiidae). In: Stoev P, Edgecombe GD (Eds) Proceedings of the 17th International Congress of Myriapodology, Krabi, Thailand. ZooKeys 741: 181-192.
英國衛報報導，世界自然基金會（World Wide Fund for nature）物種政策專家亨利（Leigh Henry）表示，這樣的情況並不利於亞洲野生種的保護。「對老虎圈養行為缺乏全面管制，表示沒有任何一個政府機關能夠掌握這些老虎的數量、出生時間、死亡時間以及死後牠們珍貴的身體部位的流向。虎製品走私仍然是野外老虎族群的主要生存威脅，最糟糕的情況是其中部分來自圈養老虎，這幫助維持甚至助長這個黑市。」
Pingtung, Taiwan, June 28, 2017 (TEIA)– A decade-long debate on a development project within a valuable land crabs' habitat in Kenting National Park's (墾丁國家公園) Houwan Bay (後灣) has concluded. Executive Yuan has finalized the deal on swapping land ownership, specifically the exchange of government-owned land parcel for private-owned land parcel. In this land swap deal, the government offers the parking lot next to National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium to the developer, King's Town Construction Co. (京棧飯店). This allows them to construct their hotel and also protect the precious land crabs' habitat.
This first-ever land swap deal is a notable milestone in Taiwan's habitat conservation history. From lobbies among governments, industries, and grassroot groups to an absolute consensus among them, this conservation resolution has laid the foundations for a sustainable future for the land crabs in the National Park.
Houwan Bay, Kenting National Park. Photo: Kay Li.
The idea of land swap was initiated by grassroot environmental groups. Hung Hui-Hsiang (洪輝祥), the former chairperson of the Pingtung Environmental Protection Union (屏東縣環境保護聯盟), who has been striving to conserve Houwan Bay's land crabs for more than eleven years, shared that the developer was seeking to develop a hotel within the national park when they discovered a large population of land crabs that should be protected. Fortunately, Kenting National Park Administration Office was open to a land swap, and this resulted in a triple-win situation with the conservation of the land crabs, sustenance of the natural resources, and respecting the developer's rights.
Conservation Comes Before Economic Development Led a Long-term Debate
In 2006, the King's Town Construction Co. acquired a land parcel next to the Aquarium in Houwan to build a hotel. While clearing and preparing the land parcel for development, a large number of land crabs were unexpectedly found dead on site. This incident led to a campaign to protect land crabs. Following in 2009, Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (Taiwan EPA) issued a conditional approval as the project's environmental impact assessment outcome - the development will be suspended if the land crabs population falls below 50%. In addition, the Administration Office amended the planning of the development and the Construction and Planning Agency's National Construction Park Committee reviewed future administrative work.
Later in 2014, the King's Town Construction Co. submitted its revised hotel construction plan to Pingtung County Environmental Protection Bureau for environmental impact comparative analysis review. This was iteratively reviewed by the environmental groups and conservationists, who placed great emphasis on the importance of the land crabs' habitat in Houwan Bay. However, the government would not prioritize conservation nor order the developer to withdraw this development project.
After a two-year long administrative procedure, Taiwan's first-ever land swap for conservation was completed. Photo: Kay Li.
The deadlock ended when both Pingtung County Environmental Protection Bureau Director Lu Tai-ying (魯台營) and Kenting National Park Administration Office Director Liu Pei-tung (劉培東) agreed to accept the land swap proposed by the grassroots organizations and commence negotiations with the developers. After a two-year long administrative procedure, Taiwan's first-ever land swap for conservation was completed.
Hung commended the outcome, “after an eleven-year long effort, we finally succeeded in convincing the developer to accept the resolution and to agree that development does not come first. This wise choice will allow us to further coordinate sustainable projects for land crab conservation.”
Citizens Urge the Government to Prioritize Conservation
Hung also emphasized the pivotal role that citizen participation played in this successful campaign to preserve the Houwan Bay land crabs' habitat. Citizen awareness was raised through engagement in environmental impact assessment meetings, holding on-site visits, and organizing e-petitions. He noted that it is this public attention which pushed the government away from the developers' lobby, “it is because of pressure from the citizens who urged the government to prioritize conservation that the government's position no longer leans toward that of the developers.”
Local resident Yang Mei-yun (楊美雲), a committed long-term conservationist and eco-tourism promoter in Houwan, commended “the land swap is a win-win resolution for everyone.”
Citizen awareness was raised through engagement in environmental impact assessment meetings, holding on-site visits, and organizing e-petitions. Photo: Amanda Liao.
When Yang and other conservationists first discovered the Houwan Bay land crab habitat and started the campaign, they were met with many misunderstandings and criticisms from the local residents. They were condemned for impeding the development of the hotel and Houwan Bay's tourist economy. Today, however, the local residents are proud to have accomplished such a significant conservation for Taiwan through the land swap.
"When we first launched the environmental initiative, we hoped that public awareness would be raised. We must educate residents on their rights", said Yang. "Any change will require a significant amount of time, but we must persevere to let everyone know where the problems are.”
Land Crabs Are More than a Tourist Attraction
Yang pointed out that conserving the land crab habitat is synonymous with conserving Houwan Bay's tourist economy . “We must first protect our environment in order to secure our profits from tourism” she said.
But the value of the land crabs is more than their economic return, as Yang discussed in further detail. A land crab habitat functions as an important component in the ecosystem because when land crabs release their larvae in the intertidal zone, they are fueling the entire biological community of coastal wetlands. This fuel is the reason behind the abundance of natural resources in coastal habitats, which provides a myriad of economic benefits in terms of attracting tourists, and serves as an important buffer zone for natural disasters.
She emphasized that nature has suffered great degrees of anthropogenic pollution and degradation and if we as human beings cannot protect our environment, we will ultimately be the ones to suffer.
Preserving Land Crabs' Gene Pool Remains Challenging Even with Designating a Conservation Area
The Administration Office states that the land crab habitat will be slated as a conservation area after the land swap is completed. They will work with the local community to manage it. In this regard, Yang believes that a more prudent assessment should be conducted and communicated. "The community needs to be educated to change their mindsets. More importantly, the maintenance of this habitat needs to be led by specialists. Hence the Administration Office should not pass on this responsibility to the local community.”
Houwan Bay's land crab habitat is precious in that it not defragmented by roads. Yang hopes that conservation can be prioritized in Houwan, and ecotourism from the nearby beach should not disturb the forested areas and the land crab habitat. According to Yang, ecotourism will benefit the community.
Houwan Bay is the gene bank of Taiwan's land crabs. Photo Credit: Kenting National Park Headquarters.
Alternatively, Hung Hui-Hsiang firmly believes that Houwan Bay is the gene bank of Taiwan's land crabs. Houwan Bay has up to 27 different species of land crabs and high-density populations. After declaring it as a conservation area, he recommends to continue active conservation so that the land crabs can reproduce well.
Kenting National Park has more than 30,000 hectares of land and over 100 kilometers of coastline. The coastline in Kenting should be land crab friendly. Specially, after adult land crabs have released their larvae into the sea, they should be able to return safely to their terrestrial habitats. Conservation and rehabilitation for land crab hotspots should be strengthened, especially in Banana Bay (香蕉灣) and Gangkou River Estuary (港口溪). We must protect and restore the once rich but now declining land crab population in Kenting, thereby making the National Park a better environment and healthier ecosystem.
After the eleven-year-long lobbying effort on development in Houwan Bay's land crab habitat, we have finally reached achieved a significant milestone in Taiwan's conservation history. Hung Hui-Hsiang recognizes the efforts from the public sector that made the land swap possible beyond their jurisdiction, and for optimising the balance between conservation value and the interests of the development project.
Reporting by Kay Li in Pingtung；Translating by William and Harrison；Editing by Ray, Harrison, Eugenia and Michael. Proofreading by Rachel
澳洲詹姆士庫克大學（James Cook University）名譽教授威廉．F．勞倫斯（William F. Laurance）參與了人類足跡指標計畫的數據更新工作，同樣對該研究表示讚賞：「現在又多了一項證據，證實脆弱的野生動物需要沒有人為干擾的完整棲地。我們一直以為開發和保育能夠兼得，但實情並非如此，我們需要為大自然留下一席之地。」
Hawaii is making history. Ten days ago the island state became the first to ban the pesticide chlorpyrifos, a neurotoxin linked to asthma and seizures that damages brain development in children.
Governor David Ige signed SB 3095 into law on June 15. The law goes into effect in July and will impose a partial ban on chlorpyrifos by January 2019. Anyone who wishes to continue using chlorpyrifos may do so only by applying for an exemption with the state. No exemption will be granted after 2022, and the use of pesticides containing chlorpyrifos is completely banned starting in 2023.
Photo: Matt Jacoby（CC BY-NC 2.0）
The new state law creates 100 foot no-spray buffer zones around schools and requires large-scale pesticide users to disclose the Restricted Use Pesticides they are spraying.
The mandatory reporting and no-spray zone provisions are effectively immediately with no exemptions.
Governor Ige said, “Protecting the health and safety of our keiki [children] and residents is one of my top priorities. We must protect our communities from potentially harmful chemicals. At the same time, Hawaii’s agriculture industry is extremely important to our state and economy.”
“We will work with the Department of Agriculture, local farmers and the University of Hawaii as we seek safe, alternative pest management tools that will support and sustain our agriculture industry for generations to come,” the governor said.
The national Agency for Toxic Substances warns, “Breathing or ingesting chlorpyrifos may result in a variety of nervous system effects, ranging from headaches, blurred vision, and salivation to seizures, coma, and death, depending on the amount and length of exposure.”
Chlorpyrifos has been widely used in homes and on farms. In the home, it is used to control cockroaches, fleas, and termites; it is also used in some pet flea and tick collars. On the farm, it is used to control ticks on cattle and as a spray to control crop pests.
Chlorpyrifos is a white crystal-like solid with a strong odor. It does not mix well with water, so it is usually mixed with oily liquids before it is applied to crops or animals. It may also be applied to crops in a capsule form.
The pesticide’s fearsome health effects led the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, under the Obama Administration to propose banning all of its agricultural uses, but the current administrator, Scott Pruitt, reversed this pledge in March 2017.
SB 3095 marks a new chapter for Hawaii residents, who have repeatedly demanded protection against pesticides. The world’s largest agrochemical companies experiment and develop their genetically engineered crops in Hawaii.
Because the majority of these crops are engineered to resist herbicides, testing and development of these crops results in repeated spraying of toxic chemicals. Many of their operations are adjacent to schools and residential areas, putting children and public health at risk.
Voluntarily reported pesticide use data shows that these companies apply thousands of gallons and pounds of Restricted Use Pesticides in Hawaii each year.
The Center for Food Safety, CFS, provided legal and policy assistance to this effort. The Washington, DC-based NGO helped draft SB 3095, lobbied for its passage, and encouraged public participation in the legislative process.
CFS also published the first-ever analysis of pesticide use data and its relationship to field trials of genetically engineered crops in Hawaii.
Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of Center for Food Safety, said, “Hawaii is taking action that Pruitt’s EPA refused to take by banning chlorpyrifos. Hawaii is courageously taking the first step towards pesticide policies that will provide for more protection for children as well as more transparency.
Kimbrell believes that other states will follow Hawaii’s lead.
